Trouble logging in?We were forced to invalidate all account passwords. You will have to reset your password to login. If you have trouble resetting your password, please send us a message with as much helpful information as possible, such as your username and any email addresses you may have used to register. Whatever you do, please do not create a new account. That is not the right solution, and it is against our forum rules to own multiple accounts.

I voted dubbed but I enjoy Japanese subtitles to. Really I can do both but for some odd reason I prefer dubbed. But if its like a theme song or something I prefer subbed. Also companies like Funimation and Viz do the dubs of most the of the shows I watch and they are pretty good. I do watched subbed a lot of times especially considering its so far ahead of the dub most times. Also some dubs are just horrible rush jobs.

I think it's better when subbers:
1) Do not use honorifics, since w/o honorifics is natural English
2) Take liberties with the subs. The most recent example I noticed is the CrunchyRoll subber, instead of just dropping Ika's ~degeso (means tentacle), they worked it into the lines, like "What the squid are you doing?" It's common in Japanese for talking animals (Ika is a "squid") to have a verbal tic to match their animal, but this is rare in English. The subber dealt with this in an interesting way, rather than dropping it (standard, but lazy) or tacking it on to lines (unnatural).

Now these are two things I absolutely *cannot* stand
1) Honorifics are *important*, they contain information about the character's relations with each other. Without them, valuable clues with which you can understand the story better are missing.
2) Hell no. A good translation should be as literal as possible (without sounding unnatural). Fansubbers absolutely shouldn't take liberties and rewrite the story along the lines of whatever deranged ideas they have about what the characters *should* have said, rather than what they *did* say.

While the dubbing standard has come up over the years, it is admittedly harder to dub some shows without sounding ridiculous and exaggerated. I like subs since it allows you to listen to the language, and gradually learn. While some dubs are good (Bebop and Champloo come to mind), it's definitely more divisive on quality.

I really like dubs, but I watch subs only if they doesn't have dubs. My favorite dubbers are Nathalie Bienaimé, Benoît du Pac and Brigitte Lecordier. For the theme songs, I generally prefer the original (japanese) version. As for the subs, I learned some japanese words. Some recent dubs I watched (second French dub version of One Piece, Soul Eater, Black Butler II, Pandora Hearts) are really faithful to the Japanese version, even if they contains some errors, while they are pretty good.

__________________

I will protect you from the darkness and I change my destiny.MyAnimeList

That doesn't just go for anime, but for anything. As close to the original intent as you can get for an authentic experience; that's how I enjoy things. Of course, I don't understand Japanese to any significant extent, so I have to rely on subtitles to get me through anything I watch, and that in itself takes away some of the authenticity. It no doubt makes me miss out of subtleties from time to time, but it's still a whole lot closer than voice-overs in a different language.

Growing up in a small country with a language spoken essentially nowhere else, dubbing is not something I ever got used to (or learned to rely on) either. Around these parts, only children's programming gets dubbed. In general, movies and shows with a target audience for anyone over 12 rarely receives a dub. I wouldn't want to see American and British movies dubbed into my native language any more than I would like to see anime dubbed in English. (And that includes animated favorites of mine like Fantasia and (Disney's) Alice in Wonderland, just so we're not unfairly squaring off exclusively live-action dubs against animated ones.)

That being said, I think anime specifically makes a special case against dubbing that goes beyond my general preference for authenticity. Anime voice-acting is something unique, at least that's what I think. The voices and characters brought fourth can be unlike anything found elsewhere, and I often find that in addition to being unnecessary for me to enjoy the series, dubbing takes away a lot of the quality. It simply doesn't hold up from my experience. To use an example that has become increasingly relevant in the recent years, I don't think English can do moe justice. It's a phenomenon that is so intrinsically linked to the Japanese language and often, specific seiyuu's performances, that it simply doesn't translate well. That is merely my opinion, of course, and if you've seen dubs of moe shows that you enjoy, more power to you. I'll readily admit that I don't have that much experience watching dubs in the first place, because as mentioned, even if English voice-acting had no shortcomings at all, I would still pick the original presentation over it.

When it comes to exceptions, a lot of people have already brought up the obvious examples. In addition to being a great dub, the Cowboy Bebop setting lends itself very well to the English language. It's a Western-ish one, after all. The same can be said for Hellsing, which actually takes place in England and has characters from different parts of Europe. (I have only heard snippets of this dub, but I actually quite liked what I heard.) Including games, the renowned dub of Metal Gear Solid is something I vastly prefer to the Japanese original, largely due to the marvelous performance by David Hayter. Ending it on a controversial note, I love the dubbing of Final Fantasy X. Despite a few flaws here and there, I find the cast incredibly compelling and engaging, so much so that I have no desire to go out and hunt down the Japanese original.

I pretty much started with dubs when I first watched shows such as Pokemon and Dragonball Z when I was younger, and of course those shows had great dubs. I took a long break from anime until my friend introduced me to Negima (And I am forever grateful that he did) and first began to watch the English Subs. Later on I heard the dubs and it blistered my ears to the point that I wondered why it was dubbed in the first place, so I stuck with the subs.

Something about the Japanese voices just always accurately matches the characters in animes...not to mention they get the cuteness in some characters and the serious tone in others perfectly. Plus, I enjoy hearing the Japanese language, it's rather unique and I hope to learn it some day.

Dubbed voices just never quite hit the mark for some characters. I prefer subs over dubs.

Later on I heard the dubs and it blistered my ears to the point that I wondered why it was dubbed in the first place, so I stuck with the subs.

Something about the Japanese voices just always accurately matches the characters in animes...not to mention they get the cuteness in some characters and the serious tone in others perfectly. Plus, I enjoy hearing the Japanese language, it's rather unique and I hope to learn it some day.

Dubbed voices just never quite hit the mark for some characters. I prefer subs over dubs.

The bolded part happened to me too.
Won't mention which anime though.

I do agree on your opinion about the cuteness of japanese voices. Probably won't be able to handle Ika Musume speaking english, or The Idolm@ster english dubbed.

At the time I voted for this poll my inclinations were both about the same, but these days I prefer watching shows English dubbed unless the voice work is Higurashi bad or it's a total context botcher such as a 4K!ds dub.

While the practice of watching a show in as much of its original context as possible via subtitles is understandable, I'd rather just focus on the context of the anime without keeping a peripheral on the entire screen. Seriously, it's a show; I want to watch, not read.

__________________

I want to know more, it's a wild night
let's delve into the dreams
I want to know more, it's a wild ride
so let's have a shocking party
dancing, dancing, don't stop my dancing
dancing, dancing, let me do

lol I wonder if 4kids butchered Yugioh 5Ds.... (as every single violence, detail, episode is important).

4Kids made me lose faith in TV dubs.

__________________

Dang it Avalon, you c(XD LOL)-block Shirou and Reinforce, but don't protect his mind in other ways? What is wrong, you woman?
Friendship, be made! Magical power, gather! Starlight Breaker.... this world!

I watch dubs whenever possible for two reasons. The first reason is that doing so allows me to multitask. When I'm reading subtitles I cannot do anything other than read subtitles, which cumulatively becomes time inefficient. While watching a dub I can write a paper or work on a project as the dub continues to play in the background.

The second reason is that my grasp of Japanese simply is not good enough to determine what counts as good acting or not. Sure, I can infer basic emotions but any delivery more nuanced than that is difficult to appreciate. With a dub, in a language that I'm fluent in, it's far easier to appreciate a skillful delivery or to determine how well the actor is in character. Nonetheless, I often find myself watching subs, as I'm simply not patient enough to wait for the dubs when concernig newly released shows.

Sure, I can infer basic emotions but any delivery more nuanced than that is difficult to appreciate. With a dub, in a language that I'm fluent in, it's far easier to appreciate a skillful deliver or to determine how well the actor is in character. Nonetheless, I often find myself watching subs, as I'm simply not patient enough to wait for the dubs when concernig newly released shows.

I can appreciate that point of view, but I wonder a bit about the diversity of shows you may have watched. Some genres, like high-school comedies, don't give the cast much material to work with. (School Rumble is an noteworthy exception to this tendency.) Dramas offer voice actors more opportunities to display their subtlety.

Among the ladies, Kuwashima Houko displays a wide array of voicings in roles as different as Shurrei in Saiunkoku Monogatari, Clare in Claymore, and "Isako" in Dennou Coil. Her speech in episode eight of Saiunkokuseason two is a tour-de-force.

I prefer subs, it preserved the emotions and character of the....ehmm.... characters.

I would just advice if your planning to watch it with a non anime fan member of your famly or friends, make sure you have the dubbed.... I was embarrassed when one by one they left the screen living me alone...except our physicians young daughter... GOD!

1. I like multitasking.
2. I don't like reading a cartoon. I'll get the manga instead.

Basically, I just don't like having to read text at the bottom of the screen when watching a cartoon. But if an anime catches my interest enough, I'd tolerate having to read the subtitles. For example, my favorite anime right now is Lovely Complex. I was able to finish watching that anime. Normally, I don't finish watching an anime because I get put off by the subs.

My friend gave me a bunch of anime (mostly subs) and he was shocked to hear that I haven't finished watching most of them. Lol. But when he gave me dubs, I finished watching them all. One example is Fullmetal Alchemist. He gave me sub first, and I watched the first few episodes and never finished even after some months. Then he gave me the dubbed. I finished watching it in a few days. Lol.

Of course, the dubs have to be from good companies. There are some dubs I can't stand, and Animax dubs are one of them.